Peter completed his schooling at Maritzburg College. He received his undergraduate training at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg and obtained his MS and PhD degrees at the University of Wisconsin. Peter was appointed to the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Stellenbosch in 1962. In 1970 he became Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Pathology, a post which he held until his retirement in 1991.

Peter was the South African representative at the inaugural meeting of the International Society for Plant Pathology in London, UK (1968). He was a founder member of the South African Society for Plant Pathology and Microbiology and served twice as President of the Society. In 1985 he was the first person to be elected a fellow of the SASPP, and in 1993 he was elected an honorary member.

Peter published more than 70 research papers in peer reviewed journals and was the author of several popular articles. After his death, his wife, Laetitia, brought an unpublished manuscript to the attention of Professor Pedro Crous, Chair of the Department of Plant Pathology. Pedro felt that the work, though completed in 1984, should still be published. His technician, Mrs PW Hanekom, scanned the text of the printed draft and later the photos, converting the chapters into HTML documents and linking them to form an e-book. Entitled Diseases of Plants, their Development and Control, the book was launched as a CD to coincide with the commemoration of the 80th year of Plant Pathology at the Stellenbosch University in 2001.

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